Spatio-temporal Variations in Plantation Forests'Disturbance and Recovery of Northern Guangdong Province Using Yearly Landsat Time Series Observations(1986-2015)

Forest disturbance plays a vital role in modulating carbon storage,biodiversity and climate change.Yearly Landsat imagery from 1986 to 2015 of a typical plantation region in the northern Guangdong province of southern China was used as a case study.A Landsat time series stack(LTSS) was fed to the vegetation change tracker model(VCT) to map long-term changes in plantation forests' disturbance and recovery,followed by an intensive validation and a continuous 27-yr change analysis on disturbance locations,magnitudes and rates of plantations' disturbance and recovery.And the validation results of the disturbance year maps derived from five randomly identified sample plots with 25 km^2 located at the four corners and the center of the scene showed the majority of the spatial agreement measures ranged from 60% to 83%.A confusion matrix summary of the accuracy measures for all four validation sites in Fogang County showed that the disturbance year maps had an overall accuracy estimate of 71.70%.Forest disturbance rates' change trend was characterized by a decline first,followed by an increase,then giving way to a decline again.An undulated and gentle decreasing trend of disturbance rates from the highest value of 3.95% to the lowest value of 0.76% occurred between 1988 and 2001,disturbance rate of 4.51% in 1994 was a notable anomaly,while after 2001 there was a sharp ascending change,forest disturbance rate spiked in 2007(5.84%).After that,there was a significant decreasing trend up to the lowest value of 1.96% in 2011 and a slight ascending trend from 2011 to 2015(2.59%).Two obvious spikes in post-disturbance recovery rates occurred in 1995(0.26%) and 2008(0.41%).Overall,forest recovery rates were lower than forest disturbance rates.Moreover,forest disturbance and recovery detection based on VCT and the Landsat-based detections of trends in disturbance and recovery(LandT rendr) algorithms in Fogang County have been conducted,with LandT rendr finding mostly much more disturbance than VCT.Overall,disturbances and recoveries in northern Guangdong were triggered mostly by timber needs,policies and decisions of the local governments.This study highlights that a better understanding about plantations' changes would provide a critical foundation for local forest management decisions in the southern China.

Optimization of Crosswalk Width Based on Bi-Directional Pedestrian Crossing Time at Signalized Intersections

The effects of the interactions between bi-directional pedestrians on the crossing time and the crosswalk width are studied. Firstly,the crossing process of bi-directional pedestrians is analyzed.The total crosswalk time is divided into a discharge time and a crossing time. The interactions between bi-directional pedestrians are quantified with the drag force theory. Then,a model is developed to study the crossing time based on the kinetic energy theory and momentum theory. Subsequently,the related parameters of the proposed model are calibrated with observed information. The relationships among crosswalk width,signal time,pedestrian volume and level of service are simulated with the proposed model. The results are verified and compared with other models. The proposed model has an absolute value of relative error of 9. 38%,which is smaller than that of the Alhajyaseen model（ 15. 26%） and Highway Capacity Manual（ HCM） model（ 12. 42%）. Finally,suggested crosswalk widths at different conditions are successfully estimated with the proposed crossing time model.

Characteristics of the Function of Ice Force on Vertical Cylindrical Piles

A lot of tests on ice forces on vertical cylindrical piles are conducted in the ice basin of ice laboratory in Tianjin University to identify the characteristics of ice forces on fixed platforms in the Bohai Gulf. A function of ice forces is simplified on basis of test data, and the characteristics of the ice forces including the amplitude of the force and the breaking frequency of the ice sheet is detailed by use of the Fast-Fourier-Transform method, The results show that the ice breaking frequency presents a linear relationship with the ratio of ice moving velocity to ice thickness at low velocities. At high velocities, the frequency remains constant with the increase of the ratio of ice moving velocity to ice thickness. These conclusions are compared those published in literature.

Statistics and Analysis on Reliability of HVDC Transmission Systems of SGCC

Reliability level of HVDC power transmission systems becomes an important factor impacting the entire power grid.The author analyzes the reliability of HVDC power transmission systems owned by SGCC since 2003 in respect of forced outage times,forced energy unavailability,scheduled energy unavailability and energy utilization eff iciency.The results show that the reliability level of HVDC power transmission systems owned by SGCC is improving.By analyzing different reliability indices of HVDC power transmission system,the maximum asset benef its of power grid can be achieved through building a scientif ic and reasonable reliability evaluation system.

Derivation of energy-based base shear force coefficient considering hysteretic behavior and P-delta effects

A modified energy-balance equation accounting for P-delta effects and hysteretic behavior of reinforced concrete members is derived. Reduced hysteretic properties of structural components due to combined stiffness and strength degradation and pinching effects, and hysteretic damping are taken into account in a simple manner by utilizing plastic energy and seismic input energy modification factors. Having a pre-selected yield mechanism, energy balance of structure in inelastic range is considered. P-delta effects are included in derived equation by adding the external work of gravity loads to the work of equivalent inertia forces and equating the total external work to the modified plastic energy. Earthquake energy input to multi degree of freedom（MDOF） system is approximated by using the modal energy-decomposition. Energybased base shear coefficients are verified by means of both pushover analysis and nonlinear time history（NLTH） analysis of several RC frames having different number of stories. NLTH analyses of frames are performed by using the time histories of ten scaled ground motions compatible with elastic design acceleration spectrum and fulfilling duration/amplitude related requirements of Turkish Seismic Design Code. The observed correlation between energy-based base shear force coefficients and the average base shear force coefficients of NLTH analyses provides a reasonable confidence in estimation of nonlinear base shear force capacity of frames by using the derived equation.

Three-order pseudo-Hamilton canonical equationsReceived

Based on the three-order Lagrangian equations, Hamilton＇s function of acceleration H^＊ and generalized acceleration momentum P^＊α are defined, and pseudo-Hamilton canonical equations corresponding to three-order Lagrangian equations are obtained. The equations are similar to Hamilton＇s canonical equations of analytical mechanics in form.

Higher-order differential variational principle and differential equations of motion for mechanical systems in event space

In this paper we study the higher-order differential variational principle and differential equations of motion for mechanical systems in event space. Based on the higher-order d＇Alembert principle of the system, the higher-order velocity energy and the higher-order acceleration energy of the system in event space are defined, the higher-order d＇Alembert- Lagrange principle of the system in event space is established, and the parametric forms of Euler-Lagrange, Nielsen and Appell for this principle are given. Finally, the higher-order differential equations of motion for holonomic systems in event space are obtained.

A NUMERICAL STUDY OF SHORT-RANGE CLIMATIC OSCILLATION WITH VARIOUS TIME SCALES FORCED BY EL NINO DURING THE NORTHERN SUMMER

The normal mode method is adopted to decompose the differences between simulations with SST(sea surface temperature)anomahes over centra-eastern Pacific and normal SST by use of a nine-layer global spec- tral model in order to investigate short-range climatic oscillation with various time scales forced by El Nino during the northern summer.Investigation shows that El Nino may have the following influence on atmosphere on various space-time scales.Extra-long wave components of Rossby mode forced by convective anomaly over equatorial western Pacific resulting from El Nino produce climatic oscillation on monthly(sea- sonal)time scale in middle-high latitudes of Southern and Northern Hemispheres;extra-long wave components of Kelvin mode forced by SST anomalies propagate along the equator,resulting in 30—60 day oscillation of tropical and subtropical atmosphere;and its long waves move eastward with westerly,resulting in quasi-biweek oscillation.